Tennants

Tennants is a longstanding family-run auction house with a saleroom in Leyburn, North Yorkshire and offices in Harrogate and London. It also has representatives across the country.

The major expansion to its Leyburn premises in 2014 means that, in addition to its purpose-built salerooms, it also has catering, conference and events facilities.

Tennants’ sale calendar includes Fine Art Sales, Country House Sales, Modern Art and Interiors Sales, fortnightly Antiques and Interiors Sales, and other specialist sales in a range of collecting fields.


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Archibald Thorburn seagulls fly high at Tennants

12 April 2021

It is often said there is a strict hierarchy for the prices of game bird pictures by the great ornithological artist Archibald Thorburn (1860-1935).

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New audience brings tiara back in vogue

12 April 2021

The popularity of the tiara, that reached its peak in the decades before the onset of the First World War when diamonds from South Africa were in plentiful supply, has fluctuated across the 20th century in line with prosperity and fashion.

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Proud Yorkshireman’s view of God’s Own Country

12 April 2021

Tennants offered a well-received 70-lot sale dedicated to views mostly of Yorkshire from a private collection last month.

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Sister act – Augustus John portraits

12 April 2021

Depiction of one McNeill sister sets a record while portrait of her sibling also appears at another auction

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Trolleys carries on giving

29 March 2021

Among the Banksy works sold outside London recently was a screenprint of Trolleys that made £40,000 at Tennants’ (20% buyer’s premium) of Leyburn in North Yorkshire.

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Why CC41 was the in-thing to wear

22 March 2021

By 1941, wartime Britain was facing severe shortages of both the raw materials and the labour force needed to make clothing.

The Mouseman of Kilburn carving

Pick of the week: Mouseman figures squeak for themselves

15 March 2021

The highlight of a £75,000, 30-lot private collection of Robert Thompson oak carvings sold by Tennants was an anthropomorphic figure of The Mouseman of Kilburn.

LS Lowry painting

Looking to a Leyburn Lowry double in lockdown

15 March 2021

A late work by LS Lowry (1887-1976), which had never appeared on the open market before, overshot a £60,000- 90,000 estimate at Tennants’ latest Modern & Contemporary art sale.

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Crewelwork from 1940s sells at 10-times estimate

15 March 2021

Made using woollen yarns on a linen ground, crewelwork is most typically associated with England in the 17th and 18th centuries.

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Some buys have all the pluck

01 March 2021

Lacking the glitter of a former rock star owner, this Fender Stratocaster sold on the traditional antiques virtues of quality, age and condition.

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Mug celebrating George Stephenson’s Rocket steams to triple-estimate

22 February 2021

This Liverpool creamware transfer-printed frog mug was produced by the short-lived Herculaneum factory c.1830-33 just after the 1829 Rainhill Steam Trials.

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Bing model fires the imagination at Tennants

25 January 2021

As with so many other collecting areas recently, the conditions of lockdown – meaning spare money and time for the fortunate – have led to buoyant demand for toys, models and collectables.

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The stuff of collectors’ dreams

25 January 2021

Cases of Australian animals stand out among a family home taxidermy treasure trove

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Pick of the week: Aroma therapy – the c.1800 perfumes concealed in a book

18 January 2021

The luxury perfumery l’Officina Profuma Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella in Florence is considered the oldest pharmacy in the world.

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Hugs and kisses, Christopher Robin

18 January 2021

Mounted in an autograph book that was compiled from 1937 onwards by Miss Joyce Cartmell, a sketch of Christopher Robin was a highlight of a Yorkshire sale.

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A true mouse man carving comes to auction in Yorkshire

11 January 2021

The highlight of a private collection of Robert Thompson oak carvings to be offered by Tennants on March 6 is this curious anthropomorphic figure of the ‘Mouseman of Kilburn’.

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Back-painting at sale forefront

04 January 2021

Tennants’ (20% buyer’s premium) Autumn Fine Sale in Leyburn was topped by a pair of verre eglomisé pictures by Jonas Zeuner (1727-1814).

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Take the train to Saint-Flour

21 December 2020

Four lots of French railway posters attracted a good deal of attention at Tennants (20% buyer’s premium) on December 9-10.

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Affordable art: Three works sold for under £1600 including a Harry Fidler oil

21 December 2020

Three modestly valued works selling at regional sales including a Harry Fidler oil.

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Mouseman 'critters' chip in with their own creations

21 December 2020

Furniture by Robert ‘Mouseman' Thompson and more recent productions from the Kilburn workshop attracted the usual enthusiasm at Tennants (20% buyer’s premium).

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